The California history and social science standards-based reform has been touted as the "gold standard" for state history curricula. But the standards, framework, and tests that constitute this reform provide inconsistent and contradictory criteria for teaching and assessing history and social science. An examination of the political…

Students and teachers in Pierce School District in Arbuckle, California, re-enacted an 1840s wagon train. Staff and students dressed authentically, turning thrift-store outfits into period garb. The 4-day simulation instilled knowledge in students and helped them think more critically. True instructional innovation comes from the bottom up. (MLH)

After a 16-year absence from the public school classroom, an education professor returned for a semester to teach American history to an eleventh-grade class. He recounts four lessons concerning the need for classroom order, student motivation, teacher efficiency, alternative student grouping arrangements, and student feedback about teaching…